When writing your admissions essay, you have to come up with something that will reflect your personality but at the same time impress your readers the right way. The use of certain inappropriate words is always a bad idea. Keep in mind that a well-thought out admission essay should contain concise statements that use the right words to effectively convey what you want to say to your essay readers.
Admission essay myth 1: using high-fallutin words is impressive
Using highfalutin words in your admission essay is not a good idea. After all, what your essay readers would like to know about you is your suitability to the school’s program and student body, and not your vocabulary skills. Because the aim of your admission essay is to reveal the real you to the admission panelists, you would have to keep everything real by sticking to words that you know best. Admissions staffers won’t really enjoy reading application essays that look like scientific papers. Let your essay remain simple, and let its sincerity and effective arguments convince the readers that you deserve a spot at your dream school.
Application essay myth 2: using the spellchecker alone is enough when editing
Thanks to the latest advancements in computer programs, we now have all forms of editing software, with the spellchecker as one of them. However, don’t solely rely on this program when editing and proofreading your application essay. A good technique is to spellcheck your essay first using a word processing program, and then manually check it by reading your essay several times. This way, any grammar or typo error not captured by the software will still be corrected. Keep in mind that a well-written essay shouldn’t contain obvious grammar and typo errors. Submitting such an essay will create a bad impression among your readers.
To realize what the myths are in writing your MBA admission essay is the first step towards an excellent application essay. By keeping the truth behind these tips in mind, coming up with a well-written essay becomes easier.
Related questions:
1. Why is it better to use simpler words on the admission essay?
2. Are Admissions officers critical in your choice of words on the essay?
3. Is there a downside to using the spellcheckers?
Even before the writing of the first word in your MBA application essay, there is something important that needs to be done- the outline. Having an outline gives a number of benefits to the applicant.
The importance of an outline for your essay for admission
An outline for the admission essay is like the overall gameplan of a sports team. From this outline, you could begin the writing process with confidence, since you have a map to be used and you would not be winging it. With an outline, your thoughts would be structured, logical, and coherent. This would also show you in a glance (it should just be a page ordinarily) what your areas of focus would be. Also, you could immediately see if there are loopholes in the arguments or if one aspect of the essay has been saturated. Be flexible though, since an outline could and should be corrected as you go along; it is not a tabled commandment that could not be altered.
Tips when preparing an outline for your admission essay
In the essay paragraphs, indicate on the outline how you plan to go about it. As much as possible, every paragraph should have elements of your own and researched data. Assuming the paragraph talks of a life experience, then no research is necessary. But still, a logical sequence of events should be narrated.
Indicate how long (two paragraphs?) or short (just 3 lines?) your conclusion would be. It is a summary of all the high points of your essay, and gives a satisfying closure to the essay question (prompt).
At the end of the day, it would boil down to organization. Having a good outline would make sure that you would not go in circles and that unnecessary facts would be omitted. Don’t neglect doing an outline, as it would be the foundation of the whole essay.
Related questions:
1. What are the reasons for creating an outline for the application essay?
2. Should research possibilities be noted down on the outline?
3. What should the outline indicate regarding the essay’s conclusion?
